A United Nations report has revealed Italy foiled an attempt by North Korea to import tap-dancing shoes, in breach of a ban on the sale of luxury goods.

The report said many banned goods reached North Korea via an unnamed trans-shipment hub, which Western UN envoys speaking on condition of anonymity said was located in China.

"In December 2010, a shipment of high-quality tap-dancing shoes was blocked at Orio al Serio Airport (Milan)," said the report by the so-called UN Panel of Experts, which monitors compliance with UN sanctions against North Korea.

A UN diplomat said the seized shipment involved several dozen pairs of tap-dancing shoes.

He said it was not clear how the tap shoes might fit into North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's lavish lifestyle, which includes grandiose stage performances by North Korean performers.

Although it has been leaked to the media, China has objected to the official publication of the UN panel's report, Security Council diplomats said.

The panel said it was collecting information on other possible violations of the ban on luxury items involving "cars, watches, spirits or food".

Two rounds of UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests ban the sale of luxury items to Kim Jong-il's government.

Pyongyang was also hit with an arms embargo and is forbidden from trading in nuclear and missile technology.

Italy has seized other banned luxury items the leaders of impoverished North Korea unsuccessfully attempted to buy in recent years, including high-quality cognac and whisky worth 12,000 euros ($17,250) and equipment for a 1,000-person cinema valued at some 130,000 euros, the report said.